Lincoln Historical Commission
Historic District Commission
Meeting Minutes
May 2, 2006, 7:30 p.m.
Board: Colin Smith, Chair, Ephraim Flint, Lucretia Giese, Kerry Glass, Ken Hurd
Alternates: Andrew Ory, Ruth Wales
Town: Elaine Carroll
NEXT MEETING: Tuesday, May 9, 2006, 7:30 p.m., Town Offices
The minutes from the April 4, 2006 meeting were approved with one correction.
Ephraim Flint joined the Commission as the second Planning Board representative.
Demolition Delay Review:
199 Concord Road This is a continuation of the April 4 meeting. Doug Stinson of 191 Concord Road said that he has reached an agreement with the Herthels to move the barn/carriage house to his property across the street. He said that he would put a proposal together and work with the police, Comcast, NSTAR and the telephone company in order to move it across Rt. 117. He has contacted Tom Gumbart of the Conservation Department, regarding rolling the barn across the Herthel property until it gets to Rt. 117 and then on to his property. Mr. Gumbart said that it would not be a problem. His mover has a window of opportunity soon and he will keep the members informed of the progress. Mr. Herthel said that he was pleased to know that Mr. Stinson was interested in preserving
the barn. Lucretia Giese said that she felt this building was of historic significance and made a motion to approve the removal of the building to 191 Concord Road but not demolition. The motion for removal was seconded and approved 3-0.
348 South Great Road The City of Cambridge, who purchased some of the Harrington land, is requesting the demolition of a shack formerly known as Johnny s Fudge and more recently the Sugar Shack. Rural Land Foundation had tried to see if it could be moved to either the Codman Farm or the organic farm stand on South Great Road but because it sits on a slab foundation with no floor, it would probably not stand up to being moved. This land has been specifically designated as conservation. After a brief discussion, a motion was made to approve the request for demolition of the structure. The motion was seconded and approved 3-0.
31 Conant Road Christopher Doughty came before the members to request the demolition of the dwelling and garage at 31 Conant Road, which belonged to his parents and which he is in the process of trying to sell. This property was built in the mid 1920s and was a summer cottage, which has been added on to several times. He feels that demolition approval will help with the sale of the property but understands that nothing can be demolished until he has received approval from the Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals regarding any new construction. After a brief discussion, a motion was made to approve the request for demolition of the house and garage. The motion was seconded and approved 3-0. The Commission felt that some changes need to be made to the bylaw, which would
put a time limit on demolition approvals and having the approval good only for the property owner and not go with the property itself.
Certificate of Appropriateness:
Old Town Hall Corporation, 25 Lincoln Road Giles Browne came before the members to request approval for 2 granite hitching posts on the left front side of the building to match 4 existing posts to the right of the building. After a brief discussion and review of photographs, a motion was made to approve the 2 granite hitching posts as requested. The motion was seconded and passed unanimously. Mr. Browne was asked to come before the members at their next meeting to discuss changes to the front area of the building.
Nancy Soulette, 1 Woods End Road Nancy Soulette came before the members for approval to add stockade fence panels and limited areas of soil mounding for plantings. Angela Seaborg of Minglewood Designs, an ecological landscape design company, explained the goals for the project, which are the removal of invasive exotic plants from the property to be replaced with native plantings, fill in beds with drought-tolerant, low-maintenance plantings and create privacy in the living room, screened porch and back yard. They had considered using only plantings but these would take some time to fill in and would need to be large in order to get the width to allow for screening. The panels would provide a compromise between a solid fence and a solid barrier of trees. The fence would continue down
the property line but would not be visible from Woods End Road as the terrain drops off. The Merrimac privacy panels will be six feet in height and 8 feet wide with the finished side facing the Goldsteins at 5 Woods End Road. They will be located approximately 120 feet from Woods End Road and will run continuously for approximately 40 feet, 3 feet off the property line. Several neighbors said that they had no problem with the fence and thought that the project would not be a detriment to the neighborhood. A representative for the Gropius House said that they had no opinion on the project. Mr. Goldstein, the abutter, felt that the privacy panels would be very visible from Woods End and Baker Bridge Roads. He read from a letter, which was sent to the Commission and is on file. Mrs. Goldstein said that people come from all over the world to see the Woods End Colony area and that they would have to answer as to why the Commission allowed a fence
in the area and she wants it on the record that she tried to stop it from happening. After a brief discussion, it was voted by the members to postpone a decision until after another site visit at which time Angela Seaborg will place a brown sheet showing the location of the panel closest to Woods End Road and poles and string showing the location of the other panels. The members will meet at the site on Saturday, May 6 at 4:00 pm and will render their decision at a public meeting on May 9 at 7:30 pm at the Town Offices.
Other Business:
Ken Hurd said that he attended a meeting of several neighbors in the Old Sudbury Road area to see if there is interest in either a Neighborhood Conservation District or putting some of the houses in a Historic District. Mr. Hurd said that some showed interest while others did not. Jack MacLean will gather all the documentation he has on this area and get back to the Commission.
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There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 10:00 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Elaine Carroll
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